Mikey: Last night, we boarded the Governors Island ferry and took off for Rock The Bells 2010. With the sun shining and perfect temperature, it was definitely the best Hip-Hop concert of the summer, performance wise. And we got there just in time to catch Lauryn Hill’s entire set which even featured brief appearances from Jay-Z, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (all of which just waved hello to the crowd).
I have to say catching the Wu do the entire 36 Chambers album live was definitely one of my child hood dreams come true and Tribe & Snoop put on stellar performances to top the night off.

MissInfo: aww, I love that Mikey enjoyed the Wu/Tribe/Snoop sets! That’s the best part of the Rock The Bells annual tour….bringing classics to life! However, I have to be honest, as happy as I was to see Lauryn Hill in good health, with her 6 beautiful kids that she brought onstage….her performance disappointed me. She was energetic and rehearsed. But, it’s as if someone baked a gorgeous cake, but used salt instead of sugar. All the songs (see after the jump) had new beats, new cadences, faster speeds. Afterwards, the only way I could describe it was….It’s like Lauryn’s mad at her legacy and the fact that she’s bound to it. So she’s punishing her legacy, in front of us.

Check out more Rock the Bells video, and photos of Jay-Z, Beyonce and more….
after the jump!

Damn, new cats ain’t f***in with the old school, real talk, i mean it would be hard for me to idolize Weezy and Drake if i was a teen, but these niggaz, the Wu, damn they were my heroes and i was just 11 years old when they were hot!!!

I was there Info and honestly………when Lauryn brought Mary, Beyonce, Alicia, Swizz, John Legend and Hov….a side a me was thiking….this looks like they’re officially letting her back “in” so to speak, I mean I don’t get caught up in all that Illuminati stuff, but…………well I’ll just say perception is everything.

Here is a link to a 1986 Hip Hop Docu named “Big fun in the big town.
It’s a dutch Documantary shot in New York, in 1986 with ll cool j,grandmaster flash,run dmc,russel simmons,schooly d,doug e fresh, and many more.

I watched this in 86 on dutch television, and it changed my life.
A Must watch for every hip hop fanatic!!!!!

Now I don’t feel bad about not really liking her performance. Lauryn has become the “Holy Grail” of hip hop and no one is allowed to critize her. Maybe I put too much in it, expecting my spirit to be renewed or something bogus like that.

I watched every vid but the L-boogie ones. I have a childhood emotional attachment to the fugees (which goes back to 96 when I was 8 and the score was the first rap album I ever heard in it’s entirety) just to know that some one who I looked up to so much as a kid is wack now would just ruin my childhood. Thats why i dont listen to any of their new stuff. Yes it is that serious. Hip Hop is serious business. Poor Lauryn her verses on the score are a large part of the reasons I love rap as much as I do. Shame to see hear she’s so bad now. MC’s need to realize when they are out of their prime and just bow out gracefully.

Not enough MC’s value their legacies. They are too concerned with making a quick buck. Which is why we have albums like Ghostdini and Back on My B.S. They just need to take the Tribe route. You’re not going to over come your past albums. The bar is too high- so you shouldn’t even bother making new music cuz its only going to disappoint people.

….that seems pretty much like an all or nothing way to view things. Realistically these artist put out music as much for themselves as for us, so it’s a lil selfish to say “ok your 1st album was the illest so don’t make anymore.”
That’s basically like saying they do this only for us.

It takes growth on the FAN’S part to not hold their childhood favorites to the same bar 15 yrs later.

fuck that the music is for the fans. i dont care what any one says. MC’s need to know when to hang it up. I didnt say anything about after a first album. idk where you got that from. Im saying after a long career of dopeness its ridiculous to come back when you dont have it any more and just tarnish your legacy and make yourself look ridiculous.

Info ,Im going to have to agree with you , While she did the rest of the fugees Part on Fugee la, Her part was like press the fast forward button and not do the same soul , imo. “Cried when Cochise died” Is a hitting line in her verse and she zipped right over it.

The meet & Greets were TOTALLY messed up!!!! I ran to the VIP tent after Rakim Performed and Slick Rick was doing his signing. He stayed there for about 15 minutes then left. I (along with EVERYONE else on the line) assumed Rakim was going to show up next. NOPE. He stiffed us making us miss KRS-One. and to make matters 1000 times worse, KRS comes out after his show and instead of signing autographs and taking pics one on one, he JUMPS on the table, JUMPS in the crowd and everyone rushes in a huddle to take a pic with him!!!! WTF!! this isn’t what I paid an extra 100 bucks for! the ONLY thing that saved it was an impromptu performance by a frustrated Supernatural. Tony Touch was DJing in the VIP tent and because of what KRS did Supernatural grabbed the mic and did an amazing 15 minute freestyle for about 45 viewers while Lauryn Hill was Performing….now THAT was Hip-Hop…unplanned & on the spot!
I hope next year they get the meet & greets together!!!

Miss Info gotta disagree w/you about Lauryn HIll. While it may have been a bit jarring to hear her rockin’ her classics to new beats, by the time she got to her 3rd/4th song she was killin’ it!! Sayin’ otherwise is just not true, and speculatin’ that she’s mad @ her legacy & bound to it is unfair when other artist remix their songs @ live concerts all the time! Stop putting her in a box and let her express herself how she chooses.

First of all where the fuck was Clipse? I mean really. What the fuck. Also Lauren was whack as hell. The sound on the main stage had WAY too much bass. Also you had Busta and Swizz on the same stage in New York fucking City and they dont play New York shit? Thankfully Jedi Mind and Snoop stepped their game up. Will not be going back next year unless the lineup that they say is going to show up actually shows up and doesn’t suck.

I am the biggest Lauryn Hill fan, and that show for me was just odd. Her screaming was disappointing, her mic reverb was annoying. There were some points during ex-factor and during turn your lights down low that glimpses of the old Lauryn were visible but not enough to illuminate the whole show. More importantly, people, like myself, paid very good money for the meet and greet and she doesn’t show up? I left her set a song or two early to get a good spot on line, wait for nearly 2 hours and she doesn’t show? That’s a bad look for the team, plus the promoters could have advised us of such, no?
Very disappointing. But I guess it is what it is.

I am the biggest Lauryn Hill fan, and that show for me was just odd. Her screaming was disappointing, her mic reverb was annoying. There were some points during ex-factor and during turn your lights down low that glimpses of the old Lauryn were visible but not enough to illuminate the whole show. More importantly, people, like myself, paid very good money for the meet and greet and she doesn’t show up? I left her set a song or two early to get a good spot on line, wait for nearly 2 hours and she doesn’t show? That’s a bad look for the team, plus the promoters could have advised us of such, no?
Very disappointing. But I guess it is what it is.

@ allan : is there no recourse? if you paid that hi VIP to meet her, you shoulda have met her.

of the no bull, file an inquest w NYC. guerilla nation is doing false advertising. they HAD to tell LH that she had to do meet & greet as part of the performance. she had to have agreed b4 GN advertised.

some of y’all need to consider that she may not be allowed to do the songs the way they were originally recorded maybe due to label shenanigans. I remember when Dave Chappelle did his Block Party concert in BK that he had originally wanted Lauryn Hill, but was told that the label would not allow her to due her songs, but he instead got the whole Fugees and they could perform their songs. Trust there really has to be a reason why she performed those songs the way she did and we need folks like Miss Info to really find out and not speculate that she just hates her legacy. The truth is out there we just have to find it!

@ L l : How does the label prevent her from playing the music as it was recorded? If anything performances causes interest which means cd/song sales which is $ for the label.

Where did u read that Columbia stopped LH from performing @ DC’s Block Party and is stopping her now?

Thanks.

I know LH feels she didnt get the rrespect she deserved. I hope she isnt testing us. I am a fine but I dont stand for bs. That is why as excited as I was I didnt pay to see her.

Also, who said she hates her legacy.
She went out on top. If she didnt dress up like a clown, her history easily coulda said :
…” after the mega success of her debut album which sold 8mill copies, Hill grew disillusioned. She left the musical world to have kids. ” Her doing these performances is fcking her legacy up.

Okay why would Columbia stop/block LH from performing her own songs? Is that their way of retaliating since she wont do a 3rd cd.

40/40: that is stupid. if carter “isnt a businessman but a business man” why is he having trouble? he was still signed to def jam & at 1 point was CEO when he had the 40/40 club, yet still they didnt allow him 2 play his & labelmates music @ his club?

so all acros the US & world, music playes in clubs, music played by Djs has to be okayed by the label? I thought buying a cd gives me rights? WTF?

LI's Finest Reply:August 31st, 2010 at 6:15 am

it’ not that music has to be okayed by a label, but any venue that plays music has to be a licensing fee to the publisher in order to do so. If the label/distributor is that owner than that is who will get paid.

here are a bunch of links re: the 40 40 Club lawsuit which music publisher BMI brought against them:

back to LH: i’ve heard a few folks say she doesn’t like her legacy and that album in particular but my question is why go on a major tour like RTB’s and do those songs in the 1st place? I guess the easy answer is she got paid to do so, but I don’t think its so simple.

The link says BMI is suing . No wonder: it is King Michael Jackson’s songs that were playing.

I dont know why LH doesnt like her legacy. She is LOVED. Her album was & is phenomenal. It still resonates true today. Her behaviour is what ppl are talking negatively about, not about her wonderful artistry.

I agree, why did she agree to the tour? Perhaps guerilla nation thought they would get the rights?who knows?

I think LH is touring to get exited. That article Toure wrote about her said she made $12mill in 99/00 of Mised.I dont know if that is gross or net, but I think it is more than enough ,I dont think she is financially hurting. Plus she has her Fugees $.

LH said in that NPR interview she is feeling inspired. I hope so. We all patiently waited for Sade & Maxwell , & so we will patiently wait for her as well.

lilkunta Reply:August 31st, 2010 at 8:57 am

The link says BMI is suing . No wonder: it is King Michael Jackson’s songs that were playing.

I dont know why LH doesnt like her legacy. She is LOVED. Her album was & is phenomenal. It still resonates true today. Her behaviour is what ppl are talking negatively about, not about her wonderful artistry.

I agree, why did she agree to the tour? Perhaps guerilla nation thought they would get the rights so they contracted LH. Im surprised –knowing her antics-that they didnt make stipualations 2 LH: u must be on time is what I def would have included in the contact.

That article Toure wrote about her in RS said she made $12mill in 99/00 from Mised. I know she was endorsing Levis at 1point as well. I dont know if that $12mill is gross or net, but still even if it just 1/3 of that is what she had, $4mill is alot. Most dont earn that in their whole lifetime. LH hopefully properly invested it and just lived off interest. & I hope Rohan is contributing to his kids. Plus she has her Fugees $.

I dont think she is financially hurting, so I think (i hope) LH is touring to get familiar with music again, to get that spark back.
LH said in that NPR interview she is feeling inspired. I hope so. We all patiently waited for Sade , Maxwell ; so we will patiently wait for her as well.

why does Beyonce constantly have her bodyguard i mean ur backstage with other HIGH profile artists…geesh! is a family friend or something? that was some truly touching video footage of all those artists!! i must go to one of these concerts one year…preferably in NY! however i wouldve been mad if i was there and all the different renditions of Ms Hills songs…HELL i cant listen to radio for the simple fact i dont like my favorite songs messed with…IJS

Heard Miss Info comment on the radio so I checked her site. Regarding L-Boogie’s performance–I walked away and got on the long as lemonade refill line. She remixed everything and “How Many Mics” turned into a 12 min rant.
Tribe got busy, MVP of the night. Seamless chemistry. How could those cats ever break up.
Like Info, always a dream to see an entire Wu show and they murdered it.
Snoop was a perfect ending. Some cool out shit after 11 hours of standing.
If you missed the Teacher, the God and the Ruler u robbed yourself. 3 Pillars to the game showed why they’re timeless.